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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Paul describe the sunlight on the roof?

2. What does Paul call the balanced stones?

3. What color is the hydrant with the painted chain on it that Paul sees?

4. How many times does the postman knock on each door?

5. What word does Paul read in large capital letters?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Paul describe the sidewalk?

2. What is noticeably different in the tone and pace of Part 4?

3. What is significant about the elm tree Paul passes?

4. What reasoning does the snow give to Paul for the increasing darkness?

5. What is it that the snow informs Paul he will see, and why?

6. How does the way Paul feels at the end of his walk contrast with the way he did at the beginning?

7. How does Part 3 end, and what is the new sound that Paul hears?

8. How does Paul perceive his parents' tone with the doctor, and why does he find it interesting?

9. How is the origin of the secret revealed in Part 1?

10. What is Miss Buell teaching, and why is that significant?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain what Paul's thought process is pertaining to his secret and hiding it from everyone.

1) Why does it become more valuable to him if no one is aware of it? How does he think it elevates him to a superior place? Which events in the story illustrate that the most?

2) What does Paul think would happen if his parents learned about the snow? How does he think they would react, and why is that an integral part in his decision to keep it from them?

3) What is the sacrifice that Paul is willing to make with regard to his parents? How is his rationalization one of the deepest signs of his detachment? What is so disturbing about it, and why is he unable to understand the severity of what he is thinking?

Essay Topic 2

As Paul withdraws into his room, his mother follows him and opens the door, interrupting the snow's agenda and signaling the final events of the story.

1) Describe the way Paul's mother is perceived by both Paul and the snow, and how those perceptions display the extreme illogical state he is in.

2) What is Paul's response to his mother, and how does the way he reaches for his response indicate his separation from life?

3) Why is Paul's mother unable to help him? How is Paul completely detached from himself at this point? How does the way he responds to his mother represent the final barrier between him and the snow?

4) Explain the way Paul thinks after he rejects his mother's help, what is strange about it and what it eventually leads to. What is the last thing that Paul sees, and how does it reflect the length of the story?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the setting of the story and the total length of time that transpires during it. Explain why Aiken chose this setting and time, including examples from from the story to illustrate the ways they both enhance it.

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